Automatic Child Safety Lock Release

ABSTRACT

An automated child safety unlocking system which disengages she child safety locks and may unlock the vehicle door in appropriate circumstances such as when the vehicle ignition has been turned to the off position or when engine is stopped. The automated child safety unlocking system enables operability of the interior vehicle doors by an occupant to allow unencumbered egress from the vehicle to prevent a child or other individual from being trapped in the vehicle. The result is reduced risk that children or other vehicle occupants become dangerously entrapped within an overly hot, cold, or dangerous vehicle.

This application claims priority to and all the benefits of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/353,359, filed on Jun. 22, 2016 andentitled “Automatic Child Safety Lock and Window Release.”

The present invention relates to aiding the escape of vehicle occupantsto the outside of a vehicle in the event that the occupant becomestrapped.

Child safety locks in motor vehicles are well known in the art. Thepurpose of child safety locks is to prevent a child from opening avehicle door during vehicle operation. While child safety locks protectchildren during normal operation of a vehicle they can produce apotentially dangerous emotion. For example, if the child safety locksare engaged on an vehicle and a child enters a vehicle to play on a hotday, the child can become trapped in the vehicle, without a way to exitin particularly hot climates, children have been known to become trappedin hot cars and to very-quickly die due to extremely hot temperaturesinside the car.

Just recently, a three-year-old child in Houston, Tex. died from theinternal heat of the vehicle after the child escaped the front door ofhis home in search of a toy in the backseat of his parent's vehicle. Thechild entered the vehicle, and the door closed behind him. It isbelieved the child attempted to open the door using the handles in theback seat of the vehicle but was unable to escape due to the child lockfeature of the vehicle. The child died as a result of the temperatureinside the vehicle and his inability to escape.

Problems of this nature have been recognized in the past but have failedto solve the safety issue. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,770,326 toAl-Qassem discloses a safety door, door lock, and door lock releasemechanism for preventing a child from opening the door while permittingan adult to do so. As disclosed the system denies access to a childbased upon a switch, out of the reach of a child or alternatively aheight sensor that would allow access to an adult but not the child. Thedisclosed also contains an alarm which would unlock the doors of avehicle in the event that an unsafe emotion such as smoke, or carbonmonoxide is detected, said alarm also being audible.

Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,758 to Parcvuescu discloses a systemfor automatically unlocking an automobile child safety door lock. Asdisclosed, the system includes an emergency sensor such as a collisionsensor initiating an airbag deployment, a door lock mechanism, and adoor lock releasing mechanism. Upon the sensor detecting an emergency,the sensor produces a signal that is sent to the door lock releasingmechanism, which subsequently unlocks the doors of the vehicle. Thesensor may also trigger disconnection of the battery terminal andinterruption of the fuel line from the fuel tank to the engine. Theemergency sensor may alternatively include a temperature or smokesensor.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,452 to Talbot discloses a vehicle having anautomatic child lock function that is controlled by an electroniccontrol system. The electronic control system receives signals fromweight sensors in the base of each passenger seat. The findings from thesensors are used to determine the occupancy of the vehicle and toproduce a signal indicative of the weigh of each passenger. Theelectronic control system is programmed to operate such that if thesignal received from the particular sensor indicates a passenger isbelow a predetermined weight, thereby indicating the presence of achild, the associated door is prevented from being opened from a closedposition even when an interior door handle is operated by a passenger.

None of the above mentioned patents adequately address the dangers of anunsupervised child becoming trapped in a vehicle without the knowledgeof an adult or other responsible party.

None of the above mentioned patents address releasing the child lockmechanism automatically every time an automobile is turned off,disabled, or left unattended for a predetermined amount of time.

Therefore, it is believed that there is a need and a large commercialmarket for a safety door lock release mechanism in accordance with thepresent invention. The market is present as there is not a simple,reliable, and affordable method of preventing children from becomingtrapped in a vehicle currently available.

It is thought that a system in accordance with the present invention canbe adapted to current designs, and sold at a very reasonable price tovehicle manufacturers around the world looking to improve the safety oftheir vehicles.

The present invention relates to an automated child safety unlockingsystem for automobiles which disengages the child safely locks atappropriate times, such as when the ignition is turned to the offposition, when the engine is turned off or when the interior of the carreaches a particular temperature threshold.

The present invention can operate in several different ways dependingupon the desire of the vehicle manufacturer. In one embodiment thepresent invention is intended to release the child lock mechanism andallow exit from the vehicle without actually unlocking the vehicle fromthe outside. By releasing only the child lock, any passenger would beable to escape the vehicle without adding any risk that unauthorizedaccess from the outside may occur. The child lock mechanism couldautomatically reengage the next time the car is started. The presentinvention is also intended to unlock the interior exterior door locks inthe event that motion is detected on the inside of the car or a humanhand touches the interior door handle. These conditions could becombined with a temperature sensor detecting an unreasonably high or lowtemperature in the interior of the vehicle.

In another embodiment of this invention the child lock mechanism may beautomatically released at a predetermined time (manufacturer's choice)after the vehicle ignition has been turned off. The car door will remainlocked from the outside of the car, but the child lock mechanism will beautomatically released at said predetermined time after the ignition hasbeen turned off. The child lock mechanism could also automaticallyrelease upon the vehicle ignition being turned off. This would eliminatethe need for a timer.

In another embodiment of this invention the child lock mechanism willautomatically release if a key fob or other wireless device travels apredetermined distance from the vehicle and the vehicle ignition hasbeen turned off. Again, the car door could remain locked from theoutside but the child lock mechanism could be automatically released toallow for a trapped child to exit the vehicle.

In another embodiment of this invention the child lock mechanism willautomatically release if the vehicle ignition has turned off and amotion is defected in the interior of the vehicle or a human handtouches the interior door handle. In this embodiment, the child lock maybe disabled or the door could become unlocked on both the interior andexterior so that a responsible individual could release a trapped personfrom the exterior of the car.

In another embodiment of this invention the child lock mechanism willautomatically release if the vehicle ignition has turned of and a motionsensor senses motion on the interior of the vehicle. In this embodiment,the child lock may be disabled or the door could become unlocked on boththe interior and exterior so that a responsible individual could releasea trapped person from the exterior of the car.

Any of the embodiments described herein, may also be combined with aninterior vehicle thermometer. In this embodiment, the release of thechild lock or the unlocking of the doors would occur only in the eventthat the interior temperature of the car became extremely high of low.

Another embodiment of this invention could provide any or all of theabove described features of the invention combined. For example, thepresent invention envisions that the child lock mechanism could beautomatically released at a predetermined time after the ignition isturned off AND the key fob reaches a predetermined distance from thevehicle.

Another embodiment of this invention could provide any or all of theabove described features of the invention combined with an electronicoverride switch which would temporarily extend, for one on/off cycle ofthe vehicle's ignition, the duration of time between turning off thevehicle and releasing the child lock.

Another embodiment of this invention could provide any or all of theabove described features of the invention combined with an audible,visible, or audible and visible message from the vehicle or from awireless or mobile device telling any occupant that the child locks havebeen disabled.

Another embodiment of this invention could provide any or all of theabove described features of the invention combined with a temperature,weight, Carbon Monoxide, CO2, smoke, motion, or other sensor which woulddisable the child lock and sound and audible alarm such as the horn inthe event that danger is detected and the sensor detects that a personis occupying the vehicle.

In another embodiment of the present invention, any of theabove-mentioned conditions or combinations of conditions could commandthat the vehicle's automatic windows be rolled down upon certainconditions. For example, if the ignition is turned off, the temperatureof the interior of the car becomes unreasonably high, and a human handtouches the interior door handle, then one or more windows would beautomatically rolled down in order to relieve the high temperaturecondition.

FIG. 1 is a general schematic diagram of an automated child safetyunlocking system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a general schematic diagram of an automated child safetyunlocking system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a box diagram of an automated child safety unlocking system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a general schematic diagram of an automated child safetyunlocking system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a general schematic diagram of an automated child safetyunlocking system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a decision box diagram of an automated child safety unlockingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a decision box diagram of an automated child safety unlockingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a general schematic diagram of an automated child safetyunlocking system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a decision box diagram of an automated child safety unlockingsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a general schematic diagram of an automated window lowering,child safety system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a decision box diagram of an automated window lowering childsafety system in accordance with the present invention;

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses. The specific embodiments describing how thismay be achieved are not intended to limit the scope of this invention tothose embodiments.

FIGS. 1-11 illustrate the key elements of the automatic child safetylock release system. These safety features could be incorporated on manydifferent items other than a vehicle, such as a trader walk in cooler,refrigerator or other confined space where a safety door lock ispresent.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of an automated childsafety unlocking system 100 is shown. The child safety unlocking system100 may use a vehicle status sensor 101 such as the ignition statussensor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,311,816 to determine the status ofthe ignition. Other types of vehicle status sensors 101 may be used todetermine the status of the ignition or engine. For example, a crankshaft position sensor may be used to determine whether the vehicleengine is in operation. In operation, when the vehicle ignition isturned off or disabled, the vehicle status sensor 101 generates a signalto a control device like an electronic control unit (“ECU”) 102 that isconfigured to receive a vehicle status signal from the vehicle statussensor 101. This control unit may be similar to the control unit (75)disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,352,081 to Taurasi. In response toreceiving a vehicle status signal from the vehicle status sensor 101,the ECU 102 is then configured to transmit a child safety lock commandsignal 103. The child safety lock command signals 103 may be generatedby the ECU 102 and transmitted to a separate control unit, child safetylock ECU 104. The child safety lock ECU 104 then may selectivelydisengage a child safety lock actuator 105 in response to the childsafety lock command signal 103 received by the child safety lock ECU104. Disengagement of the child safety lock actuator 105 means that thechild safety features are disengaged so that the door can be opened byanyone inside the vehicle. Release of the child safety lock does notunlock the door to the car from the outside. It should be noted thatchild safety lock actuator 105 may be a solenoid, motor, or any otheractuator known in the art to release a child safety lock.

The transmission of the child safety lock command signal 103 to thechild safety lock ECU 104 may be done by an independent communicationbus directly coupled to the child safety lock ECU 104 or the ECU 102 maytransmit the child safety lock command signal 103 as part of the generalsignals over a general vehicle communication bus 106.

If should also be appreciated that a vehicle status sensor 101 signalcould be transmitted to an ECU 102 and the child safety lock actuator105 could be actuated by that ECU 102. This would bypass the need for aseparate child safety lock ECU 104. This is shown in FIG. 2.

The ECU'S 102, 104 may be configured to receive the general signalstransmitted through the general vehicle communication bus 106. The ECU'S102, 104 may filter the child safety lock signals 103 from the generalvehicle communication bus 108.

The engagement or disengagement of the child safety lock actuator 105may be controlled by the child safety lock ECU 104. The child safetylock ECU 104 may be configurable to adjust the amount of time before thechild safety lock ECU 104 disengages the child safety lock actuator 105.The amount of delay or action to be taken by the child safety lock ECU104 is all pre-programmable onto the child safety lock ECU 104 and canbe changed or adjusted. It is also envisioned that, any of the ECUs maybe configurable to adjust the amount of time before it disengages thechild safety lock actuator 105.

The communication between the ECU 102 and the child safety lock ECU 104(or any communication amongst the various control systems describedherein) may be accomplished by one or a combination of the followingtypes of communication: Digital (e.g., Controller Area Network (“CAN”),Flex-ray, Local Interconnect Network (“LIN”), Kline, etc.), Analog(based on exceeding an analog threshold in the signal (positive ornegative slopes); Analog PWM (based on an analog PWM signal).

It should further be appreciated that the child safety unlocking system100 may use an “operation detecting pad” to detect the operation of theignition switch as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,577,228. As disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 6,577,228, various sensors for detecting variousoperations or conditions of the vehicle may supply signals to an ECU,which can then send signals to control various operations within thevehicle in response to these signals. A memory, may also be connected toan ECU and contain a plurality of different codes therein such as afirst code for disengaging the child safety lock and a second code forunlocking the rear doors. The memory may be a non-volatile memory suchas EEPROM so that the contents stored in the memory are maintained ifpower supply to the memory is shut off.

In another embodiment, the child safety lock actuator 105 could bedisengaged upon the vehicle engine ceasing operation instead of thevehicle ignition being turned off. If is further envisioned that, thechild safety lock actuator 105 could be disengaged upon the powertraincontrol module (PCM), ECU 102 or other vehicle computer being poweredoff. In an alternative embodiment, it is envisioned that the childsafety lock actuator 105 could be disengaged by a relay attacheddirectly to the ignition.

FIG. 3 is a decision box diagram showing more details concerning anoperational routine of the invention. Upon a vehicle turn on step 120,the vehicle ignition is turned on and the child safety lock actuator 105is engaged 121. At decision step 122 “Has ignition Turned Off,” thesystem determines if the ignition has been turned off. Thisdetermination may be made by an ECU as described above. If at decisionstep 122 it is determined that the ignition has not beers turned off,then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit will move to a “donothing” step 123 and take no action to disengage the child safety lockactuator. The system will continue to cycle back to the decision step122 at programmed intervals or upon receipt of more information by theelectronic control system until at the decision step 122 a determinationthat the ignition has turned off. If the system determines that theignition has turned off, then at step 124, the child safety lockactuator is commanded to disengage. After the child safety lock actuatoris disengaged, at decision step 125 “Has Ignition Turned ON,” the systemdetermines if the ignition has been turned on. This determination may bemade by an ECU as described above. If at decision step 125 if isdetermined that the ignition has not been turned on, then the childsafety lock ECU or other control unit will move to a “do nothing” step126 and take no action to engage the child safety lock actuator. Thesystem will continue to cycle back to the decision step 125 atprogrammed intervals or upon receipt of more information by theelectronic control system until at the decision step 125 a determinationthat the ignition has turned on. If the system determines that theignition has turned on, then at step 121, the child safety lock actuatoris commanded to engage. This final step automatically re-activates thechild safety lock when the ignition or engine is turned back on.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a schematic diagram of an automated childsafety unlocking system 200 is shown. The child safely unlocking system200 may use a wireless key, FOB, or other wireless device. When thewireless device travels a predetermined distance from the vehicle, thewireless device uses a signal generation unit to generate a signal 201that would cause the child safety lock actuator 105 to disengage. Thesignal generation may be accomplished using a signal generation unit,signal response unit and signal analysis unit using near fieldcommunications such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.Bluetooth, or infrared ray communications as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.8,710,972.

It is also envisioned that the child safety lock actuator 105 couldautomatically disengage when both of the following conditions exist: (a)the wireless mechanism travels a predetermined distance from the vehicleAND (b) the vehicle ignition has turned off. This system 500 is shown inFIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a decision box diagram showing detailsconcerning an operation routine of the system 200 is shown. Upon avehicle turn on step 120, the vehicle ignition is turned on and thechild safely lock actuator 105 is engaged 121. At decision step 601 “IsWireless Device a Predetermined Distance from the Vehicle,” the systemdetermines if the wireless device has traveled a predetermined distancefrom the vehicle. If at decision step 601 it is determined that thewireless device has not traveled a predetermined distance from thevehicle, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit will moveto a “do nothing” step 602 and take no action to disengage the childsafety lock actuator. The system will continue to cycle back to thedecision step 601 at programmed intervals or upon receipt of moreinformation by the electronic control system until at decision step 601a determination that the wireless device has traveled a predetermineddistance from the vehicle. If the system determines that the wirelessdevice has traveled a predetermined distance from the vehicle, then atstep 603, the child safety lock actuator is commanded to disengage.After the child safety lock actuator is disengaged, at decision step 604“Has Ignition Turned ON,” the system determines if the ignition has beenturned on. This determination may be made by an ECU as describe above.If at decision step 604 it is determined that the ignition has not beenturned on, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit willmove to a “do nothing” step 605 and take no action to engage the childsafety lock actuator. The system will continue to cycle back to step 604at programmed intervals or upon, receipt of more information by theelectronic control system until at the step 604 a determination that theignition has turned on. If the system determines that the ignition hasturned on, then at step 121, the child safety lock actuator is commandedto engage.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a decision box diagram showing detailsconcerning an operation routine of the system 500 is shown. Upon avehicle turn on step 120, the vehicle ignition is turned on and thechild safely lock actuator 105 is engaged 121. At decision step 122 “Hasignition Turned Off,” the system determines if the ignition has beenturned off. This determination may be made by an ECU as described above.If at decision step 122 it is determined that the ignition has not beenturned off, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit willmove to a “do nothing” step 123 and take no action to disengage thechild safety lock actuator. The system will continue to cycle back tothe decision step 122 at programmed intervals or upon receipt of moreinformation by the electronic control system until at the decision step122 a determination that the ignition has turned off. If the systemdetermines that the ignition has turned off, then at decision step 701“Is Wireless Device a Predetermined Distance from the Vehicle,” thesystem determines if the wireless device has traveled a predetermineddistance from the vehicle. If at decision step 701 it is determined thatthe wireless device has not traveled a predetermined distance from thevehicle, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit will moveback to the decision step 122 to determine if the ignition has beenturned off. If the system determined that the ignition has turned off,then at decision step 701, if the system determines that the wirelessdevice has traveled a predetermined distance from the vehicle, the childsafety lock actuator will be commanded to disengage 702.

After the child safety lock actuator is disengaged, at decision step 703“Has Ignition Turned ON,” the system determines if the ignition has beenturned on. This determination may be made by an ECU as described above.If at decision step 703 it is determined that the ignition has not beenturned on, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit willmove to a “do nothing” step 704 and take no action to engage the childsafety lock actuator. The system will continue to cycle back to thedecision step 703 at programmed intervals or upon receipt of moreinformation by the electronic control system until at the decision step703 a determination that the ignition has turned on. If the systemdetermines that the ignition has turned on, then at step 121, the childsafety lock actuator is commanded to engage.

In another embodiment of the invention, upon the child safety lockactuator 105 being disengaged, an audible, visual or audible and visualalarm may notify the occupant of the vehicle or another individual neara wireless key fob that the child safety lock has been released. Thenotification also alerting another individual at a location away fromthe vehicle that there is an individual trapped inside the vehicle. Itis also anticipated that the system may send a notification to a mobiletelephone, email server, or other communication device alerting anindividual that a person is trapped in the vehicle. The notificationthereby alerting the occupant that said occupant is now able to exit thelocked vehicle.

In another embodiment of the invention other vehicle sensors may be usedto signal the child safety lock actuator to disengage. For example, anoccupant sensor may detect that there is an occupant in the vehicle ANDa trouble sensor such as a temperature sensor, Carbon Monoxide sensor,CO2 Sensor, Smoke Sensor, or other type of safety sensor detectstrouble, a notification may immediately sound and the child safety lockactuator automatically disengages thereby allowing any occupant of thevehicle to operate the door handle of a door equipped with a childsafety lock. Upon the child safety lock actuator 105 being disengaged,an audible, visual or audible and visual alarm may notify the occupantof the vehicle or another individual near a wireless key fob that thechild safety lock has been released. The notification thereby alertingthe occupant that said occupant is now able to exit the vehicle. Thenotification also alerting another individual at a location away fromthe vehicle that there is an individual trapped inside the vehicle. Itis also anticipated that the system may send a notification to a mobiletelephone, email server, or other communication device alerting anindividual that a person is trapped in the vehicle.

It is also envisioned that if a child is trapped in a vehicle, the cardoors need to be unlocked from both the inside and outside. However, itis still a desire to prevent the exterior doors from being unlockedUNLESS someone is trapped inside. It is further envisioned that if theignition is turned off, as described above, AND motion is detectedinside the vehicle, the interior and exterior doors may be unlocked toallow the trapped person to escape from the vehicle from the inside andto allow someone to open the door from the exterior of the vehicle toallow the trapped person to escape from the vehicle. It is envisionedthat the technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,577,228 could be usedto accomplish this for the inside door handle. More specifically,similar to the technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,577,228, when ahuman hand touches the INTERIOR handle of the vehicle, a straycapacitance of a transmitting, antenna would increase so that thecurrent flowing through the antenna momentarily changes and a currentdefecting circuit detects a, contact of a human hand to the handle andsupplies a detection signal to an ECU. This technology could be usedwith the present invention as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a schematic diagram of an automated childsafety unlocking system 800 is shown. If the vehicle ignition is turnedoff AND a human hand touches the INTERIOR door handle, the vehiclestatus signal 101 and the human touch detection signal 801 as disclosedU.S. Pat. No. 6,577,228 are sent to the ECU 102. the ECU 102 may thenselectively disengage a child safety lock actuator 105 in response tothe child safety lock command signal 103 received by the ECU 102. TheECU 102 or a separate control unit may then send a control signal to anactuator 107 to unlock the exterior door handle. It should be noted thatthe actuators 105 and 107 may be separate actuators or may be a singleactuator configured to disengage the child lock and to unlock theexterior door handle, it should also be noted that, if the actuators 105and 107 are separate actuators, they may be controlled by the samecontrol unit or by separate control units. Additionally, if the vehicleignition is turned off AND a human hand touches the INTERIOR doorhandle, these signals 101 and 801 are sent to a control system thatcommands an audible or visible or audible and visible alarm 108 in thevehicle, on a wireless key fob, or at a separate communication devicesuch as a mobile phone. It should also be noted that the human handdetection signal could be replaced by a motion detection signal. Thealarm and/or notifications will alert a person that someone is trappedinside the car. Again, the alarm or notification may be controlled bythe same control unit or different control unit that controls theactuators 105 and 107.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a decision box diagram showing detailsconcerning an operation routine of the system 800 is shown. Upon avehicle turn, on step 120, the vehicle ignition is turned on and thechild safety lock actuator 105 is engaged 121. At decision step 122 “HasIgnition Turned Off,” the system determines if the ignition has beenturned off. This determination may be made by an ECU as described above.If at decision step 122 it is determined that the ignition has not beenturned off, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit willmove to a “do nothing” step 123 and take no action to disengage thechild safety lock actuator. The system will continue to cycle back tothe decision step 122 at programmed intervals or upon receipt of moreinformation by the electronic control system until at the decision step122 a determination that the ignition has turned off. If the systemdetermines that the ignition has turned off, then at decision step 950“Has a Human Hand Touched the Interior Door Handle,” the systemdetermines if a human hand has touched the interior door handle, if atdecision step 950 it is determined that a human hand has NOT touched theinterior door handle, then the child safety lock ECU or other controlunit will move back to the decision step 122 to determine if theignition has been turned off. If the system determined that the ignitionhas turned off, then at decision step 950, if the system determines thata human hand has touched the interior door handle, the child safety lockactuator will be commanded to disengage at step 951. Also at step 951 anexterior door lock actuator could be commanded to unlock the exteriordoor handle and an audible or visible or audible and visible alarm ornotification could he activated at the vehicle, a wireless fobis then,or a communication device such as a mobile phone. It should also benoted that step 950 “Has a Human Hand Touched the Interior Door Handle;”could instead be a step for determining “Has Motion Been defected in theinterior of the vehicle?”

After the child safety lock actuator is disengaged, at decision step 952“Has Ignition Turned ON” the system determines if the ignition has beenturned on. This determination may be made by an ECU as described above.If at decision step 952 it is determined that the ignition has not beenturned on, then the child safety lock ECU or other control unit willmove to a “do nothing” step 953 and take no action to engage the childsafety lock actuator. The system will continue to cycle back to thedecision step 952 at programmed intervals or upon receipt of moreinformation by the electronic control system until at the decision step952 a determination that the ignition has turned on. If the systemdetermines that the ignition has turned on, then at step 121, the childsafety lock actuator is commanded to engage.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a schematic diagram of an automated childsafety unlocking, system 900 is shown. If the vehicle ignition is turnedoff, the interior temperature of the vehicle reaches a threshold value,AND a human band touches the INTERIOR door handle, the vehicle statussignal 101, the detection signal 801 and the interior vehicletemperature sensor 901 are sent to the ECU 102. The ECU 102 isconfigured to then transmit a window lowering command signal 902 to thepower window motor 903, which optionally moves the window glass to anopening direction (down) or closing direction (up). In this embodiment,the power window motor may be controlled by the same ECU that receivesthe signals 101, 801 and 901 or may be controlled by a different controlunit. Similar to the system depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, theembodiment depicted in FIG. 10 may also include the disengagement of thechild safety lock, the activation of an alarm, and/or the unlocking ofthe exterior door handle in the event that the vehicle ignition isturned off, the interior temperature of the vehicle reaches a thresholdvalue, AND a human hand touches the INTERIOR door handle.

Referring to FIG. 11, a decision box diagram showing details concerningan operation routine of the system 900 is disclosed. Upon a vehicle turnon step 120, the vehicle ignition is turned on. At decision step 122“Has Ignition Turned Off,” the system determines if the ignition hasbeen turned off. This determination may be made by an ECU as describedabove. If at decision step 122 it is determined that the ignition hasnot been turned off then the child safety lock ECU or other control unitwill move to a “do nothing” step 123 and take no action to move thewindow glass to an opening direction. The system will continue to cycleback to the decision step 122 at programmed intervals or upon receipt ofmore information by the electronic control system until at the decisionstep 122 a determination that the ignition has turned off. If the systemdetermines that the ignition has turned off, then at decision step 950“Has a Human Hand Touched the Interior Door Handle,” the systemdetermines if a human hand has touched the interior door handle. If atdecision step 950 it is determined that a human hand has NOT touched theinterior door handle, then the ECU or other control unit will move backto the decision step 122 to determine if the ignition has been turnedoff. If the system determined that the ignition has turned off, then atdecision step 950, if the system determines that a human hand hastouched the Interior door handle, then at decision step 980, “HasInterior Vehicle Temperature Reached Threshold Value,” the systemdetermines if the Interior temperature of the car has reached somepredetermined threshold value. If at decision step 980 it is determinedthat the interior temperature of the car has NOT reached somepredetermined threshold value, then the ECU or other control unit willmove back to decision step 122 to determine if the ignition has beenturned off. If the system determines that the ignition has been turnedoff and that a human hand has touched an interior door handle and theinterior vehicle temperature has reached the threshold value, then thepower window motor moves the window glass into an opening position 961.Similar to the system depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 11 may also include the disengagement of the childsafety lock, the activation of an alarm, and/or the unlocking of theexterior door handle in the event that the vehicle ignition is turnedoff, the interior temperature of the vehicle reaches a threshold value,AND a human hand touches the INTERIOR door handle. It should be notedthat any step or signal referring to a human hand touching an interiordoor handle could be replaced with a motion detector or any sensordetermining that a person or animal is inside the vehicle.

If desired, after the power window motor moves the window glass into anopen position, the system may perform a similar function as shown at thebottom of FIG. 9 and close the window when the ignition is turned backon.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been disclosedhereinabove, it is to he understood that these embodiments are given byexample only and not in a limiting sense. Those skilled in the art maymake various modifications and additions to the preferred embodimentschosen to illustrate the invention without departing from the spirit andscope of tie present contribution to the art. Accordingly, it is to berealized that the patent protection sought and to be afforded herebyshall be deemed to extend to the subject matter claimed and allequivalence thereof fairly within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automated child safety unlocking systemcomprising: a control device to optionally inhibit or allow the interioroperability of a door latch by an occupant of a motor vehicle; a vehiclestatus detection sensor configured to detect the operational status of avehicle ignition or engine; wherein said control device is used to allowinterior operability of the door latch by the occupant of the motorvehicle in response to a signal received from said vehicle statusdetection sensor.
 2. The automated child safety unlocking system ofclaim 1, wherein the system is programmed to allow interior operabilityof the door latch by the occupant of the motor vehicle some delay timeafter said control device receives a signal from said vehicle statusdetection sensor.
 3. The automated child safety unlocking system ofclaim 1, wherein the system is programmed to inhibit the interioroperability of a door latch by an occupant of a motor vehicle inresponse to a signal received from said vehicle status detection sensorindicating that the vehicle ignition or engine is turned back on.
 4. Theautomated child safety unlocking system of claim 1, further comprising:an alarm providing an audible or visual warning or an audible andvisible warning when the system is used to allow the interioroperability of the door latch by the occupant of the motor vehiclealerting an individual that the child locks have been disabled.
 5. Theautomated child safety unlocking system of claim 1, further comprising:a manually activated temporary consent function for temporarilyinhibiting the interior operability of the door latch by the occupant ofthe motor vehicle.
 6. An automated child safety unlocking systemcomprising; a control device to optionally inhibit or allow the interioroperability of a door latch by an occupant of a motor vehicle; awireless device detection sensor configured to detect whether a wirelessdevice has moved a predetermined distance from a motor vehicle; avehicle status detection sensor configured to detect the operationalstatus of a vehicle ignition or engine; wherein said control device isused to allow interior operability of the door latch by the occupant ofthe motor vehicle in response to one or more signals received from saidwireless device detection sensor and said vehicle status detectionsensor.
 7. The automated child safety unlocking system of claim 6,wherein the wireless device uses near field communications such asradio-frequency identification technology, Bluetooth, or infrared raycommunications.
 8. The automated child safety unlocking system of claim8, wherein the system is programmed to allow interior operability of thedoor latch by the occupant of the motor vehicle some delay time aftersaid control device receives one or more signals from said vehiclestatus detection sensor and wireless device detection sensor.
 9. Theautomated child safety unlocking system of claim 6, wherein the systemis programmed to inhibit the interior operability of a door latch by anoccupant of a motor vehicle in response to a signal received from saidvehicle status detection sensor indicating that the vehicle ignition orengine is turned back on.
 10. The automated child safely unlockingsystem of claim 6, further comprising: an alarm providing an audible orvisual warning or an audible and visible warning when the system is usedto allow the interior operability of the door latch by the occupant ofthe motor vehicle alerting an individual that the child locks have beendisabled.
 11. The automated child safety unlocking system of claimfurther comprising: a manually activated temporary, consent function fortemporarily inhibiting the interior operability of the door latch by theoccupant of the motor vehicle.
 12. An automated child safety unlockingsystem comprising: a control device to optionally inhibit or allow theinterior operability of a door latch by an occupant of a motor vehicle;a vehicle occupant detection sensor configured to detect whether aliving being is in the interior of a vehicle; a vehicle status detectionsensor configured to detect the operational status of a vehicle ignitionor engine; wherein said control device is used to allow interioroperability of the door latch by the occupant of the motor vehicle inresponse to one or more signals received from said vehicle occupantdetection sensor and said vehicle status detection sensor.
 13. Theautomated child safety unlocking system of claim 12, wherein theinterior and exterior vehicle door latches become operable in responseto one or more signals received from said vehicle occupant detectionsensor and said vehicle status detection sensor.
 14. The automated childsafety unlocking system of claim 12, further comprising: an interiorvehicle temperature detection sensor configured to detect the interiortemperature of a vehicle; a window control device to optionally move thevehicle window glass to an opening direction or a closing direction;wherein said window control device is used to optionally move thevehicle window glass to an opening direction in response to one or moresignals received from said vehicle occupant detection sensor saidvehicle status detection sensor, and said interior vehicle temperaturedetection sensor.
 15. The automated child safety unlocking system ofclaim 12, wherein the system is programmed to allow interior operabilityof the door latch by the occupant of the motor vehicle some delay timeafter said control device receives a signal from said one or more saidvehicle status detection sensor and vehicle occupant detection sensor.10. The automated child safety unlocking system of claim 12, wherein thesystem is programmed to inhibit the interior operability of a door latchby an occupant of a motor vehicle in response to a signal received fromsaid vehicle status detection sensor indicating that the vehicleignition or engine is turned back on.
 17. The automated child safetyunlocking system of claim 12, further comprising: an alarm providing anaudible or visual warning or an audible and visible warning when thesystem is used to allow the interior operability of the door latch bythe: occupant of the motor vehicle alerting an individual that the childlocks have been disabled.
 18. The automated child safety unlockingsystem of claim 12, further comprising: a manually activated temporaryconsent function for temporarily inhibiting the interior operability ofthe door latch by the occupant of the motor vehicle.
 19. The automatedchild safety unlocking system of claim 12 wherein the vehicle occupantdetection sensor Is a human touch detection sensor that is configured todetect whether a human hand has touched the interior handle of thevehicle.
 20. The automated child safety unlocking system of claim 12wherein the vehicle occupant detection sensor is a motion sensorconfigured to detect motion in the interior of the vehicle.
 21. A methodfor releasing a motor vehicle's child safety lock comprising: allowinginterior operability of a door latch by an occupant of a motor vehiclein response to a signal received from a vehicle status detection sensorindicating that the vehicle engine or the vehicle Ignition has beenturned off.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of allowing theinterior operability of a door latch by an occupant of a motor vehicleoccurs some delay time after said signal is received from said vehiclestatus detection sensor.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:inhibiting the interior operability of a door latch by an occupant of amotor vehicle in response to a signal received from said vehicle statusdetection sensor indicating that the vehicle engine or the vehicleignition has been turned back on.
 24. The method of claim 21, furthercomprising: alerting an individual that the child locks have beendisabled by sounding an audible or visual warning or an audible andvisible warning upon allowing the interior operability of the door latchby the occupant of the motor vehicle.
 25. The method of claim 21,further comprising; providing a manually activated temporary consentfunction for temporarily inhibiting the interior operability of the doorlatch by the occupant of the motor vehicle.